Should an individual fall victim to illness or injury in the field, it is often necessary to transport the victim a considerable distance before treatment may be rendered. For example, if a hunter in a remote area were to be injured, it may be necessary to transport that hunter several miles over rough terrain before medical assistance, other than first aid, may be administered.
The need for such emergency medical transport requires that that transport be immediately provided. A delay or failure in providing transport may result in a worsening of the illness or injury. In extreme cases, this worsening may result in the death of the victim.
The need to provide immediate medical transport requires preplanning for such a medical emergency. This preplanning implies that a means for transport be present or produced at the scene of the emergency.
Typically, a litter, such as a stretcher, is used to transport a victim. Such a litter is normally made up of a canvas or other flexible material stretched over a frame consisting of two poles and two cross members. The carrier of such a litter is encumbered with a considerable burden. The overall mass of the litter adds significantly to the load of the carrier, and the length of the poles inhibit the activities in which the carrier may engage. Collapsing the litter, i.e., disengaging the cross members to allow the poles and flexible material to be wrapped into a tighter bundle, neither shortens the length of the poles nor ameliorates the mass of the litter.
As a result, informal field outings, such as for hunting, backpacking, etc., often omit the litter as too burdensome, thus increasing significantly the difficulty of providing immediate transport in the event of an emergency and significantly increasing the risk of complication and death to a potential victim.
What is needed, therefore, is a litter capable of being carried in the field in anticipation of a possible emergency with a minimum of difficulty and inconvenience to the individual doing the carrying. Such a litter should be lightweight, small in size, and carryable without interfering with the normal activities of the carrier.